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National Employment Law Project
90 Broad Street, Suite 1100, New York, NY 10004
Posted November 10, 2015
The below statement can be attributed to Christine Owens, executive director of the National Employment Law Project, on Fight for $15 strikes and protests nationwide today:
“The Fight for $15 is a real response to a deepening crisis. Though many think the recession is fading into the past, the bottom line is that real wages continue to decline for workers, especially those in the lowest-paid occupations. A full-time worker earning $15 per hour earns about $30,000 per year—barely enough to support a family in any part of the country. Workers earning below $15 per hour are also disproportionately women and people of color. More than half of African-American workers and close to 60 percent of Latino workers make less than $15.
“Across the country, companies are raising pay, local governments are enacting wage increases—including New York State, which has adopted a $15 minimum wage for fast-food workers—and voters across the country will be considering minimum wage ballot proposals next year, including some for $15. All this progress at a moment when federal action seems stalled is a testament to the power of organizing and to the change that can occur when workers come together to demand what is right.
“Low-wage workers across the country today are offering a glimpse of the power that comes with their unified voice, and candidates gearing up for the 2016 elections across the country should take note of their urgent calls for change.”
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